On November 4, 2014, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell named a new member to the Health Information Technology Policy Committee (HITPC) and renewed appointments for three members of the Health Information Technology Standards Committee (HITSC).

Both the HITPC and HITSC were created through the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act.  The HITPC makes recommendations to the National Coordinator for Health IT on policy frameworks for the development and adoption of a health information infrastructure.  The HITPC consists of three members appointed by the HHS Secretary, four members appointed by Congress, thirteen members appointed by the Comptroller General of the United States, and other federal members appointed by the President.  The Secretary’s new appointee to the HITPC is Anjum Khurshid, a senior advisor in the health systems division of the Louisiana Public Health Institute.

The HITSC makes recommendations to the National Coordinator for Health IT on standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria for the electronic exchange and use of health information.  HITSC members are appointed by the HHS Secretary, with input from the HHS National Coordinator for Health IT.  The Secretary renewed the appointments of Floyd Eisenberg, M.D., M.P.H., a consultant with iParsimony LLC; Leslie Kelly Hall, Senior Vice President of Policy at Healthwise; and Arien Malec, a Vice President of Relay Health.